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Your Career in Fiction: Part II Criminal Justice

On the Edge by James Mills

Available in Stoage (Science Library)

Call Number: HV 8138 M53

Who doesn’t love a good crime novel? On the Edge covers the stories of people in almost every aspect of the criminal justice system, from detectives, lawyers, junkies, murderers, and even mob hit-men. This book offers a good look at the seedy underbelly of 1970s Manhattan, but doesn’t shy away from the corruption and despair of those who are supposed to be working in the light.

This book is in storage but that doesn’t mean it’s hard to get your hands on. To check it out, all you have to do is go to the Science Library uptown and request it at the circulation desk. All you have to do is fill out a small form with the title, author, and call number, and one of the helpful circulation staff will run down and grab it for you right away. Or, if you’d rather, request it from UAdelivery [https://illiad.albany.edu/illiad/] and have it sent down to Dewey for you to pick up at a later date.

Live by Night by Dennis Lehane

Available in the University Library

Call Number: PS 3562 E426 L58 2012

While trying to figure out the present we can’t forget about the past. Live by Night is the compelling story of a gangster during the Prohibition Era. Joe Coughlin, a policeman’s son, does more than fall in with a bad crowd. He falls in with the mob. From petty thief to made man, this novel follows the rise and fall of a 1920s rum runner.

My Sister, My Love by Joyce Carol Oates

Available in the University Library

Call Number: PS 3565 A8 M895 2008

Stories of crime fighters and criminals are all well and good, but what of the victims after a crime is committed? My Sister, My Love follows the story of Skyler Rampike and the ramifications of the unsolved and high profile murder of his ice skating champion sister. The story takes a long hard look at a dysfunctional family both before, and after the tragic event that tears them apart, and the media storm that follows.

Judge & Jury by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

Available at the University Library

Call Number: PS 3566 A822 J83 2006

Anyone can find a detective novel these days, but a jury thriller? Now that’s unusual! Judge & Jury follows juror Andie DeGrasse as she is embroiled in the trial of an infamous mafia don, and teams up with the narrator, FBI agent Nick Pellisante, to seek revenge and recapture the don after his explosive escape from custody. This book should deliver for anyone seeking a little thrill in their leisure reading this summer.

Naked in Death by J. D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

So far we’ve covered crime in the past, as well as various aspects of criminal justice in the present, but what will the criminal justice system look like fifty years in the future? Nora Robers writing as J. D. Robb shows us her ideas in her famous In Death series, following the indomitable NYC Detective Eve Dallas through her exploits in the 2050-60s. Naked in Death starts this series off with a bang as Eve begins an investigation into the murder of a prostitute that brings her in contact with a mysterious billionaire who is at the top of her list of suspects. The In Death series offers mystery, romance, sex, death, drama, and everything else a reader could possibly want from a crime drama. A fair warning to anyone who reads this; the In Death series is huge, so if you like this one clear out your calendar because you’ll have a long way to go until you reach the end.

Unfortunately, no books in this series are available in any of the university libraries. If you want to get your hands on it (and I highly recommend you do), try checking your local library or request it through interlibrary loan .

These books only scratch the surface of what’s available covering the subject of criminal justice. If you want help finding more books and stories like these, or stories covering aspects of the criminal justice system not covered here, email dewref@albany.edu, call (518-442-3691), or ask a librarian in person at the Dewey Library reference desk.